Former Eagles coach Doug Pederson hired as Jaguars head coach, will be at the Linc next year

Doug Pederson is back in the NFL.

The former Eagles coach, who led the team to its first Super Bowl victory in 2017, was hired Thursday as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ next head coach.

Pederson was fired by the Eagles after a 4-11-1 2020 season and spent last year away from coaching. During this hiring cycle, he interviewed with several teams, including the Saints, Bears, and Broncos.

Pederson will make a trip back to Philadelphia next season, with the Jaguars set to play at the Linc sometime next year.

“Doug Pederson four years ago won a Super Bowl as head coach of a franchise in pursuit of its first world championship,” Jaguars owner Shad Khan said in a statement. “I hope Doug can replicate that magic here in Jacksonville, but what is certain is his proven leadership and experience as a winning head coach in the National Football League. It’s exactly what our players deserve. Nothing less.”

“Combine this with his acumen on the offensive side of the ball, and you have why I am proud to name Doug Pederson the new head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars.”

Pederson’s hiring came a few hours after reports indicated that Byron Leftwich, also a finalist for the Jacksonville job, withdrew his name from the running. Leftwitch reportedly expressed discomfort working with Jacksonville general manager Trent Baalke, but the Jaguars have kept their front office intact.

Pederson inherits a Jaguars team that is coming off a 3-14 season and has the first overall pick in this year’s NFL draft.

» READ MORE: The easy thing is the right thing: Jaguars should hire Doug Pederson | David Murphy

The Jaguars are hoping Trevor Lawrence, the No. 1 pick in last year’s draft, will make strides the way Carson Wentz did under Pederson following his rookie season. Wentz was an MVP candidate before tearing his ACL in his sophomore campaign, largely thanks to Pederson’s offense and the run-pass options he helped popularize en route to Super Bowl LII.

Lawrence had an uneven rookie season, partially marred by former Jags coach Urban Meyer, who was fired midway through his first season because of several controversies and poor results. He completed 59.6% of his passes and threw for 3,641 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 17 interceptions, which tied for most in the league. Still, Lawrence flashed the potential that made him the consensus No. 1 prospect in a deep quarterback group, and he’ll give Pederson plenty to work with.

The Eagles fired Pederson almost 13 months ago, with Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie citing the need to transition from a contending team to a retooling one as the primary reason. Pederson went 42-37-1 in five years as the Eagles coach and made the playoffs three times, but went 9-7 in 2019 before an ugly 2020 season.

The Eagles offense ranked 28th in defense-adjusted value over average in 2020 and Wentz had one of the sharpest regressions of any starting quarterback. The Inquirer also reported Pederson’s firing was brought on in part by underwhelming Lurie with the suggestions for his staff in a year-end meeting.

Pederson will have to fill his staff out in Jacksonville. While most of his former assistants left the Eagles’ organization with him — aside from offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland and wide receivers coach Aaron Moorehead — a few of his offensive assistants landed in Indianapolis with former Eagles offensive coordinator Frank Reich. Both Mike Groh, another former Eagles offensive coordinator, and Press Taylor, who was Pederson’s pass-game coordinator in 2020, are on the Colts’ staff.

Jim Schwartz, Pederson’s defensive coordinator during his tenure with the Eagles, is now a senior advisor for the Tennessee Titans and is reportedly in the running for the Colts’ open defensive coordinator job.

Pederson is the sixth head coach hired in this cycle with three openings — the Dolphins, Saints, and Texans — remaining. All six of the coaches hired so far have been white men, which coincides with fired Dolphins coach Brian Flores suing the league for discriminatory hiring practices, among other things.